Cellular container



Sept. 26, 1944.

.R. s. DUTHIE 2,358,915

CELLULAR CONTAINER I Filed Oct. 6, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Rosaos 6 DUTH/E INVENTOR ATTORNEY Sept. 26, 1944. R; G. DIUTHIE ,9

' CELLULAR-CONTAINER Filed Oct. 6, 1941 -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fla. 6 Fla; 7

26 RoscoE 6, DUTH/E INVENTOR ATTORNEY h a I I Patented sept. 26, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT -oFnc I 2,358,915' I A CELLULAR CONTAINER. Roscoe G}. Duthie, Pullman, Waslgn Application Octob r s, 1941, Serial No. 413,779 I 3 Claims. (01. oe-3i My invention relates to a cellular container that is adapted to receive and enclose a plurality of elongated objects and my invention is particularly adapted for use in the packagingfstor'ing, handling and shipping of elongated articles such as ammunition for the modern types of artillery rifles in regard to which there has been'a long i felt need for a suitable container.

To meet the desired, and in some cases required, characteristics for a suitable container a device must be light and at the same time be strong so as to protect adequately its contents. With regard to its assembly and disassembly, a suitable container must be simple in construction and operation in order to require only a modicum of mechanical skill in opening or 0105- ing the device. From the standpoint of the ini- Flo Another and further objectof my invention is the use of the principles of sheet lamination in effecting units of the structure in order to gain the natural strength, lightness, and simplicity of laminated structures.

Other objects and. advantages of my invention will be more apparent during the course of the following description wherein I have set-forth and described a preferred form of my invention. This description taken in View of the accompany- 'ing drawings fully discloses my invention and tial manufacture of a container at this time, a

modern demands require that it be capable of mass production and yet be constructed of natural resources that are abundant without placing an undue burden upon domestic metal re. sources.

In use, the container must be compact and yet avoid the sacrifice of desired protection forthe contents from self-damage as well as damage from external forces. Along this same line an individual unit must be capable of inter-relation with a plurality of such units so that such a group may be stored in the minimum of space, compactly and simply, without requiring elaborate methods of arrangement or that they be fitted together with skill and care.

It is an important object of my invention-to meet all of these foregoing requirements and to do so in a single device producible at low'cost and with great efiiciency.

Another object of my invention relatesto the production of a container having the foregoing characteristics in which is used sheets of wood or other fibrous materials associated together with the minimum of metallic joinder means to effect a light, strong, and compact unit.

A further object of my invention relates to the use, in a container, of curved cell members which, when joined together in a group according to my invention, have great inherent strength and resistance to internal and external damaging forces. I

Still a further object of my invention is the provision, in a container, of means that are easily operable in order to provideaccess to the contents and yet, when the container is closed, imparts additional strength and rigidity to the article.

from it, it will be apparent that changes and alterations in shape, size, and the general arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my subjoined claims.

The drawings, forming a part of this disclosure, contain several views among which,

Figure l is a perspective view of the exterior of a cellular container formed according to my invention, Y

Figure 2 is a perspective View of cell element employed in numbers in forming my container,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, perspective view of such a cell element as is shown in Figure 2 but taken from a slightly different angle of View,

Figure 4 ,is a perspective viewof an end or closure cap employed in my container, with'portions broken away for convenience of illustration, V

Figure 5 illustrates in a cross-sectional view one manner of assembling a plurality of cell units in order to form. my container,

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional View of my assembled container, 7

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view similar to Figure 6. of a modified form of assembling the cell units of mycontainer,

Figure 8 is a longitudinal, sectional View through a typical form of the container and taken as indicated by the lines B-8 of Figure 6,

Figure 9 is a face view of a closure cap illustrating in cross-section a single cell element associated therewith, as suggested by lines 99 of Figure 8, and V Figure 10 is an end view of several'containers constructed according to my invention suggesting a method for grouping or for stacking several such containers.

Throughout the specification and drawings, like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in the different views. The number l2 designates a cell element one of whichis shown perspectively in Figure 2. The element l2 is elongated in shape and in. cross-section, as may be seen in Figure 5, comprises the arcuate enclosing portions I4 having the terminal end I6 and an ogee shaped flap I8 integral along the opposite edge.

According to the best mode that I have thus far devised for the production of such a unit, a plurality of plies or layers of fibrous material are joined or welded together according to the conventional practices in the sheet lamination art. As shown in Figure 5, the numerals 20, 2| and 22 designate the outer, intermediate and inner laminations respectively of theunit I2. In one form of my construction the inner and outer laminations 20 and 22 comprise formed sheets of Wood veneer having interposed therebetween a fabric or paper sheet 2 I, all three being adhesively joined to form a wall. V

On its ends the member I2 may be provided with outwardly extending tongues 24 which are preferably integral with the cell unit. These tongues are employed for a purpose later to be described and are in reality merely an offset extension of the main or body portion of the unit. The numeral 26 designates a reinforcing or wear strip applied to the outer curved surface of the member I2.

Referring now to Figure 6, wherein a plurality of the units I2 are associated together to define a cellular container, it will be seen that such a container has an outer contour that may be described as clover-leaf in shape. The ends I6 of each element are brought into close overlapped relationship in the center of the container and the ogee shaped flaps I8 each engage upon the outer surface immediately adjoining of member I4 of the next unit. These flaps seal the interior of the container from without. The units thus joined, each form a substantially circular shaped cell 28 suitable for the reception of an elongated article, preferably those cylindrical in shape.

In assembling a plurality of units such as shown i in Figure 6 the outer wear strips 26 are positioned at the farthest protruding point of each individual unit.

In Figure 7, an alternative form of assembling a plurality of my units is shown. In this case the ogee shaped ends or flaps I8 are arranged along the axis of the structure in an overlapping manner to close the opening between the ends I6 and the flap portion I8 of each adjoining unit to define a hollow cylindrical cell 28.

In each assembled form a relatively small triangular space is enclosed approximately along the axis of the container and such space is desig U-shaped in cross-section, is attached around the" periphery of the element 34 and is designed to receive the tongue 24 on the end of each element I2 when the cap is placed in position as shown in Figure 1. The tongues 24 protrude into the recessed groove 36 and that portion of the member I2 which does not protrude outwardly, as designated by the numeral 25, abuts against the inner face of the cap or end plate 34 where the contour of the cell element requires that the curved portion I4 approach the axis of the container, Two

such end closures 34 may be used and in that case each will be provided with an axial opening 38.

A convenient manner of joining an assembly of cell elements and end closure cap is to pass a rod 40 provided with a head 42, through the opening 38 of one cap, through the space or 32, according to the form of assembly of cell units adapted, and outwardly through the opposite cap at the other end of the container. This rod or bolt may be secured in place, and the elements of the container rigidly joined together, by the thumb nut 44 shown in Figures 8 and 10, in which case the bolt 40 is threaded at 46. It will be apparent that other means of joining the elements together could easily be employed without departing from the invention or altering the structure materially. However, the form illustrated accomplishes, in a simple manner, the desired end above set forth with relation to the employment of suitable joinder means that require a modicum of skill in assembling and disassembling such a structure, as I have disclosed.

It will be seen that by forming the elements I 2 of laminated fibrous sheet material, that suitable sheets can be preformed, and while still in a plastic or moldable form be curved to the contour of my cell elements in a continuous operation suitable for mass production. By means of simple shearing or cutting units, forming no part of this invention, such a continuous strip of preformed cell element material can be sheared at the desired length, and provided with the ofiset in such cases as it is used. The wear strips 26 are attached wherever desired and the whole operation may be carried on continuously for the production of a great number of these elements in a brief period of time.

It should be understood that the peripheral grooved flange 36 on the cap element can be omitted and the member 34 provided with a simple outstanding flange around its periphery. In such a case, the necessity of providing tongues such as 24 on the cell element is avoided. I have found that suitable containers can be formed in this way and I do not wish to be limited to the specific structure set forth above including the offset tongue.

No matter in what manner one of these elements is placed upon a floor, decking or the like, at least the edges of two of the leaves or cells will rest upon the surface. If a plurality of these are laid side by side with their nearest edges touching, another container can be placed thereupon with one of its cells protruding downwardly in the space left between the two upper projecting cells of the lowermost containers, much as indicated in Figure 10. In this way a great number of these units can be stacked, or piled, together without any material amount of space being wasted between them.

When such a container is used for the enclosing and transportation or storage of artillery shells, such as in Figure 8, the contents are placed within the separated cells and the shells 50 are placed within the container in the individual cells. I have found that it may be preferable to provide padding 52 at either end of each cell and it is desirable that such padding be somewhat resilient so that when the structure is assembled the contents will be maintained under a slight resilient pressure to prevent rattling or other movement in transit.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A cellular shipping container comprising a plurality of like separable cell elements grouped together about the axis of the container, each of said cells elements comprising an arcuate por-' tion circumscribing a major portion of a circle and having an opening forming an elongated slot, said cell elements being arranged together so that an external portion of each cell element closes the slot of an adjacent cell element to define a cell non-communicable with the other associated cells, end closure means encompassing each end of the assembled structure to close the cells and maintain the cell elements in fixed assembled relation, and a tie member extending between said end closures to maintain the structure in assembled form.

2. A cellular shipping container comprising a plurality of like separable cell elements grouped together about the axis of the container, each of said cell elements comprising an arcuate portion circumscribing a major portion of a circle and having an opening forming an elongated slot, said cell elements being arranged together so that an external arcuate portion of one cell element closes the slot of an adjacent cell element to define a cell non-communicable with the other associated cells, each cell element having an integral extension along one edge of the slot and lying in an assembled container in overlapping relation to the cell element whose external portion closes the adjacent slot, and end closure means encompassing each end of the assembled structure to close the cells and to maintain the cell elements in fixed assembled relation.

3. A cellular shipping container comprising a plurality of like separable cell elements grouped together about the axis of the container, each of said cell elements comprising an arcuate portion circumscribing a major portion of a circle and having an opening forming an elongated slot having an extension on one edge, said cell elements being arranged together so that the extension of one closes the slot of the arcuate portion of an adjacent cell element to define a cell non-communicable with the other associated cells, and end closure means encompassing each end of the assembled structure to close "the cells and maintain the cell elements in fixed assembled relation. 1

ROSCOE G. DUTHIE. 

